Hello, and welcome to the wiki for One Last Fire. If you've never played any sort of roleplaying game before, never fear! Here's a quick introduction.

One important thing to be aware of first: you don't need to read this entire website! There's a lot of material here, and you certainly don't need to know all of it to start playing (although if you do want to, that's great!). Read only what interests you and what's relevant to a character you might like to play! You will find a guide to sections of the website and what they tell you below.

Any questions, concerns and character concepts should be e-mailed to The GM Team.

In short, it is a roleplaying system that takes place either in-person or online where players mill about a room talking to other PCs and NPCs to share information and move plot forward.

The Society Game changes from year to year, and usually consists of a two-term game from Michaelmas to Hilary, and a one-term game during Trinity term. One Last Fire breaks this pattern somewhat because it will run from Week 4 Michaelmas term to Week 4 of Hilary term (including debrief).

The setting can be anything from high fantasy to low fantasy, steampunk to urban myth, science fiction to historical alternate universe. The game consists of a combination of 'Uptime' and 'Downtime' - every week your character attends a gathering in which you roleplay them by talking to, and plotting with, other characters, pursuing GM-led story, and making arrangements for Downtime. One Last Fire GMs and players will gather on Discord instead of in-person.

The intervening week between sessions can last as long or as short a time as fits the game - sometimes it represents a year, sometimes a month, and sometimes only one night. Every week you will have the opportunity to submit a turnsheet through the Society Game website (you are here now!), detailing the actions your character takes in Downtime.

In a week, your character receives a turnsheet, which is a piece of writing custom written for your character by the GMs. This contains how you got on with your actions last week, and forms some starting points for plot going forward into the next section. You can read more about turnsheets and how they work here.

There are a few acronyms used throughout the website which might be a little confusing if you've never played before. Don't worry – help is at hand! And if you're confused by anything, feel free to email us to ask questions!

OC or OOC: Out of Character. Events and circumstances in the real world. For example, OC you probably don't consider the Bodleian Libraries quite so…mysterious. (Or maybe you do, but there are no giant hedgehogs there!)

IC: In Character. Events and people in the world of One Last Fire. For example, your characters all have Personal Libraries and are at the centre of these mysteries!

GM: Game Master or Game Moderator. Us! The team of people who write, run and maintain the game for your playing pleasure. The first place to turn if you have a question.

PC: Player Character. This is you! The characters that One Last Fire players create and represent in the fictional world. You will usually play the same PC every week through the course of the game, though you may switch or retire a character if you get bored.

NPC: Non-Player Character. Us again! The GMs will play various characters in the world, from Eternal Employees, to Pests, and to Guardians you interact with in the Library in Uptime, who can also be encountered in Downtime. We have already designed various NPCs (found in the pages under Notable NPCs), but more will likely be generated as a result of PC backstories.

Ballgowning: A term for roleplaying romantic relationships between characters. Due to the ages (and age differences) of PCs and certain NPCs in One Last Fire, ballgowning is going to be handled with particular care - please see Style and Tone! If you wish to be Romanceable during this game, please select the appropriate Playstyle Quirk.

A roleplaying game is somewhere between amateur dramatics and collaborative storytelling. You turn up, create a character to play, and play them! There are no scripts or lines, no set outcomes to what will happen – just a setting, a bunch of other characters to interact with, and some GMs to make sure it all runs smoothly.

Most importantly: roleplaying is about having fun and creating stories with other players. Absolutely no experience is required to play a 'Society Game' like One Last Fire (indeed, it's designed to offer an easy route in for new roleplayers), and there will be plenty of supportive people on hand to help you out if you're confused about any aspect of the game. Turn up and enjoy yourself!